The 2016 Alpinestars Techstar Venom shirt is really light. It’s the lightest and best vented shirt I have ever worn. We have had a heat wave here in Salzburg during the past months and recently I have even resorted to wearing some DH shorts and T-Shirt to ride in, but today I suited up in the Techstar gear and had no overheating problems at all. I think the best cooling flow comes from the vented mesh bits by your wrists and inside your elbows, the air just funnels in and you can feel it cooling your arms as you ride along.

The pants are not as lightweight as the shirt but they have huge cutouts which funnel air inside (and the occasional bug) to keep you cool. The whole pant doesn’t flex in the same way as say the ONE Vapor pants, but they are made out of tougher material and have stretch panels in all the key areas so your motion is really unrestricted.

The leather panels on the knees are in the right place and help you grip the bike well and thanks to the well designed stretchy back panel the waist stays where it should and the lower part flexes so your pants don’t get pulled down by the seat. You can tell the gear has been designed and tested by people who ride. It has side adjusters which I didn’t need to use, but they provide some fine tuning of the fit if you need it. It comes in a few different colorways and looks pretty good. It has a little inside pocket to stash your car key or whatever you like. We would prefer if it was also big enough to put a phone inside but other than that, no complaints at all!

Zajcmaster is in the blue/white/neon Yellow gear and PSP is in the orange/red//black/neon yellow gear.

TECHSTAR VENOM JERSEY

Constructed from an extremely lightweight main chassis and incorporating mesh panels, the Techstar Venom is optimized for the most demanding of off-road conditions. Tested by the likes of Eli Tomac and Jeffrey Herlings, this jersey offers performance and freedom of movement and is aggressively styled with distinctive colorways – ensuring riders ride and look at their very best.

TECHSTAR VENOM PANTS

A class-leading fusion of comfort and durability the Techstar Venom incorporates innovative features, such as the patented ‘Vector’ back panel and the 3D ‘Babel knee construction, to significantly ramp up track performance. With lightweight mesh, perforated panels this pant will keep you cool under pressure.